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Watch: vs. Appalachain State | vs. Siena | vs. UMBC

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BLACKSBURG -- The Virginia Tech volleyball team bumps off the 2016 season this weekend as co-hosts of the Virginia Tech/Radford Invitational. The Hokies will take on Appalachian State at 7 p.m. on Friday at Cassell Coliseum before facing Siena at 12 p.m. and UMBC at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

Head coach Chris Riley enters his 11th season leading the Hokies, who have won 18 or more matches in three of the last five seasons. The Hokies are 22-17 all-time in season openers and are 9-1 under Riley.

Despite losing two starters from last season’s squad, the Hokies return 10 letterwinners and five starters. The Hokies bring back their top setter in Rhegan Mitchell, their top hitter in Lindsey Owens and Ashley Battle, Tech’s blocks leader the last two seasons.

Tech also adds four freshmen and two transfers who will significantly impact its depth at multiple positions. Junior Mandy Powers comes to Blacksburg from UNC Asheville where she played in 24 matches with 12 starts and ranked second on the team with 407 assists while sophomore Kelly Esch, an LSU transfer, took a redshirt season in the fall before joining the Hokies in the spring.

Scouting the Field
Appalachian State, Virginia Tech’s fifth-most played opponent, trails the all-time series with the Hokies, 22-13-1. The Mountaineers are predicted to finish second in the Sun Belt this season and are 62-36 over the last three seasons.

Siena is led by senior Briana Flagg, who led the MAAC in 2015 with 409 kills and 4.01 kills per set en route to earning conference Player of the Year honors. UMBC finished at 12-14 overall and 6-6 in America East last season but return their top-two offensive performers in sophomore Makenzie Morgen and Maddie Schneider.

For updates on Virginia Tech volleyball, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_VBall and on Instagram @vthokievolleyball